1. No category

THE CASE OF THE ERODING SPECIAL IMMIGRANT
JUVENILE STATUS
WENDI J. ADELSON∗
This Article provides a case study of a larger problem in American administrative law: the creation of unexecuted rights, with a
focus in particular on the recent degradation of the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). Nearly twenty years ago, Congress
drafted legislation providing for a pathway to citizenship for unaccompanied minors. In subsequent years, the Department of Homeland Security has ignored Congress' mandate to issue policy directives implementing the benefits and privileges associated with SIJS
in a manner that would allow eligible persons to take advantage of
this status. After explicating the nature of this creeping erosion of
the SIJS mandate, especially as it impacts former foster youth with
disabilities, the Article calls for DHS to create clear guidelines that
can be implemented in a uniform fashion, treating all applicants in
a fair and effective manner to clarify and extend the reach of SIJS.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
BACKGROUND ......................................................................... 66
A. Jean’s Story ...................................................................... 69
1. ADHD as a Class A Illness ......................................... 73
B. The Government’s Position and Congressional
Intent ................................................................................ 76
1. Lack of Congressional Indication ............................... 77
2. SIJS ............................................................................. 78
3. Congress’ Clear Intent ................................................ 79
II. SIJ AND JEAN ......................................................................... 81
A. Precedent of Courts Applying SIJS to Folks Like
Jean Elsewhere................................................................. 81
B. Policy Reasons for Applying SIJS Properly ..................... 82
C. Other Relevant Legal Instruments: Americans
with Disabilities Act? ....................................................... 84
III. DHS SHOULD REMEDY THE SIJS PROBLEM
IMMINENTLY .......................................................................... 84
*
Program Director of the Human Rights and Immigration Law Project, Center for
the Advancement of Human Rights, Florida State University College of Law; B.A., Brandeis
University; M. Phil., University of Cambridge; J.D., University of Miami School of Law. For
conversations and comments on this project, I owe thanks to: Dan Markel, Bernard Perlmutter, Kele Williams, Anthony Alfieri, Jessi Tamayo, Marisa Cianciarulo, and the AALS
Clinical Section.
65
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A. DHS’s Specious Reasoning ............................................... 85
B. DHS’s Meritless Objections ............................................. 85
C. Clear, Fair, and Effective Guidelines ............................... 86
CONCLUSION .......................................................................... 87
I. BACKGROUND
Nearly twenty years ago, Congress drafted legislation providing for a pathway to citizenship for unaccompanied minors.1 This
special immigrant juvenile visa (SIJ or J Visa) enables a child who
has been abused, abandoned or neglected, in whose best interest it
is not to reunite with family members or to return to his/her country of origin or “last habitual residence,” to eventually become a
United States citizen.2 Without SIJ relief, children without a home
to return to in their country of origin, not enough money to pay for
out-of-state or international tuition to attend a state college or
university, and no means of achieving lawful work authorization
are left without a means of legal support or ability to receive an
education. Additionally, such children are vulnerable to all kinds
of pernicious influences: traffickers, commercial sexual exploitation, drugs, and gangs, just to name a few. While family ties are
often a good way to obtain lawful resident status and eventually to
naturalize, a seventeen-year old child is too old to qualify for the
kind of adoption by a U.S. citizen aunt or uncle through which one
could adjust status as a means to acquire citizenship.3
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detains several
thousand unaccompanied minors who attempt to enter the United
States illegally each year, sometimes up to 8,000 minors.4 Only estimations exist on just how many children enter the U.S. legally,
1. Immigration Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-649, § 153, 104 Stat. 4978, 5005-06
(1990) (codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J) (2006)).
2. § 1101(a)(27(J); Zabrina Aleguire & Gregory Chen, Special Immigrant Juvenile
Status for Children in Legal Guardianships, 23 CHILD LAW PRACT. 12, 12 (2004). It is important to note that Congress first added the criteria for abuse, abandonment, or neglect in
1997 to limit the number and scope of children eligible for SIJ.
3. See Report of the Working Group on Lessons of International Law, Norms, and
Practice, 6 NEV. L.J. 656, 664 (2006), for the principle that “a valid state adoption finalized
after a child reaches age 16 does not create a parent-child relationship for
immigration purposes.”
4. Catholic
Legal
Immigration
Network,
Unaccompanied
Minors,
http://www.cliniclegal.org/Advocacy/unaccompaniedminors.html (printout on file with Journal). In 2005, the U.S. government had almost 8,000 unaccompanied minors in its custody
(7,787 unaccompanied children, “up 25% from the previous year”). Maria Woltjen, Looking
out for the Best Interests of Unaccompanied Immigrant Children in the U.S., CHILDREN’S
RIGHTS (ABA/Children’s Rts. Litig. Committee, Washington, D.C.), Fall 2006. For some
individual stories of these children, see Jennifer Ludden, Child Migrants in U.S. Alone Get
Sheltered, Deported, NAT’L PUB. RADIO, Nov. 17, 2006, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/
story.php?storyId=6469224.
Fall, 2008] SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS
67
then overstay their visas, and are not picked up by immigration
authorities.5 In 2005, 660 children received SIJ Status (SIJS).6 Do
the math: 8,000 unaccompanied children in DHS custody, another
untold amount in guardianship-type situations, and only 660
children receiving green cards through SIJS. The low numbers of J
Visas awarded relative to the number available for children in this
situation7 appears incongruous. What explains this discrepancy?
First, access to information concerning the J Visa is a hurdle. A
child must be fortunate enough to have heard of SIJS, and such
information often filters through contact with a social worker, attorney, case manager, or other child advocate.8 Unfortunately,
sometimes this vital information filters too late or not at all, and
an otherwise eligible child becomes ineligible through aging-out. In
Florida, for example, a child must apply and at least establish dependency on a juvenile court before reaching eighteen years old.9
Aging out is a problem for dependent immigrant children, but certainly not the only risk they face when anticipating an application
for SIJS. Applying for a J Visa exposes a child not in DHS custody—a child who has otherwise flown under the immigration radar—to potential deportation. It is vitally important that both the
client and the attorney be aware of the risks involved with bringing a SIJ petition; namely, alerting the immigration authorities to
an otherwise “invisible” child.
660 children received lawful immigration status through the
Special Immigrant Juvenile visa in 2005.10 Exact data is currently
5. Of the approximately 8,000 children that pass through the immigration system,
some portion of these children stay in the country and disappear, becoming part of the underground undocumented world. See Ludden, supra note 4. Also, approximately 1.8 million
children (some residing in families and some arriving unaccompanied) live in the United
States without legal immigration authorization. See JEFFREY S. PASSEL, THE SIZE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UNAUTHORIZED MIGRANT POPULATION IN THE U.S.: ESTIMATES BASED
ON THE MARCH 2005 CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY 8 (Pew Hispanic Ctr., Mar. 7, 2006).
Some portion of these children may be eligible for special immigrant juvenile status.
6. OFFICE OF IMMIGR. STAT., DEP’T OF HOMELAND SEC., 2005 YEARBOOK OF IMMIGRATION STATISTICS 22 tbl. 7 (2006) [hereinafter 2005 YEARBOOK], available at
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/yearbook/2005/OIS_2005_Yearbook.pdf.
7. The quota as outlined in 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(4) (2006) extends to all special immigrants, not just juveniles. The quota for special immigrants as outlined in § 101(a)(27) is
7.1% of worldwide immigration for employment-based category (which is 140,000 under 8
U.S.C. § 1151(d) (2006)), meaning that 9,940 special immigrants are eligible for potential
citizenship each year.
8. See Aleguire, supra note 2, at 12.
9. See § 39.5075(6), FLA. STAT. (2008). Section 39.013(2) of the Florida Statutes
(2008) expressly authorizes a Motion for Extension of Jurisdiction to be granted in any cases
where the application for SIJ status and adjustment of status is pending past the child’s
eighteenth birthday.
10. In fiscal year 2005, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services made 660 grants of
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. 2005 YEARBOOK, supra note 6, at 22 tbl. 7; in fiscal year
2004, 624 grants were made, OFFICE OF IMMIGRANT STAT., DEP’T OF HOMELAND SEC., 2004
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[Vol. 18:1
unavailable as to exactly how many juveniles applied for SIJS and
how many applications were approved.11 That said, 660 is a small
number considering that over 9,000 spots are reserved for special
immigrants each year.12 Given that few SIJ petitions are approved
for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status each year, one
might wonder why anyone would oppose these applications filed by
children deemed dependent by the juvenile court system.
A recent internal memorandum from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) written by William Yates (Yates
Memo) sheds some light on possible reasons for the newly increased resistance to SIJ petitions.13 The Yates Memo states that
the “[USCIS] adjudicator generally should not second-guess the
[juvenile] court’s rulings or question whether the court’s order was
properly issued.”14 Such language indicates that while “generally”
USCIS will support the findings of juvenile court judges who are
statutorily granted the authority to make specific findings of fact
in relation to the juveniles in question,15 exceptions could exist
where an adjudicator would have the freedom to substitute his/her
opinion for that of a juvenile court judge.16 The juvenile court is,
YEARBOOK OF IMMIGRATION STATISTICS 18 tbl. 5 (2006), available at http://www.dhs.gov/
xlibrary/assets/statistics/yearbook/2004/Yearbook2004.pdf; in fiscal year 2003, 445 grants
were grant, OFFICE OF IMMIGRANT STAT., DEP’T OF HOMELAND SEC., 2003 YEARBOOK OF
IMMIGRATION STATISTICS 23 tbl. 5 (2004), available at http://www.dhs.gov/
xlibrary/assets/statistics/yearbook/2003/2003Yearbook.pdf; in fiscal year 2002, 510 grants,
OFFICE OF IMMIGRANT STAT., DEP’T OF HOMELAND SEC., 2002 YEARBOOK OF IMMIGRATION
STATISTICS 24 tbl. 5 (2003), available at http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/
statistics/yearbook/2002/Yearbook2002.pdf; in fiscal year 2001, 541 grants, OFFICE OF IMMIGRANT STAT., DEP’T OF HOMELAND SEC., 2001 STATISTICAL YEARBOOK OF THE IMMIGRATION
AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE 29 tbl. 5 (2003), available at http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/
assets/statistics/yearbook/2001/yearbook2001.pdf; in fiscal year 2000, 658 grants, OFFICE OF
IMMIGRANT STAT., DEP’T OF HOMELAND SEC., 2000 STATISTICAL YEARBOOK OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE 31 tbl. 5 (2002), available at http://www.dhs.gov/
xlibrary/assets/statistics/yearbook/2000/Yearbook2000.pdf.
11. The author has filed a FOIA request on the matter that has not yet
been answered.
12. See discussion supra note 7.
13. See Memorandum from William R. Yates on Field Guidance on Special Immigrant
Juvenile Status Petitions (May 27, 2004), available at http://www.uscis.gov/files/
pressrelease/SIJ_Memo_052704.pdf.
14. Id. at 4-5.
15. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J)(ii) (2006). All of these findings should be clearly set
forth in the order, and the court should also make clear that the findings and determinations were made as a result of the neglect, abuse, or abandonment of the child. See Memorandum from William R. Yates, supra note 13, at 4. Such a finding can be made by the court
or an administrative agency. See id.
In Florida dependency proceedings, these findings can only be made by a Circuit Court
Judge, pursuant to section 39.5075(4) of the Florida Statutes (2008).
16. For example, the Yates Memo outlines the procedure a USCIS adjudicator would
follow if s/he suspects that the juvenile court performed insufficient oversight over the facts
presented by the juvenile in question:
If an adjudicator encounters what s/he believes to be a fraudulently obtained order s/he should promptly notify a supervisor, who should imme-
Fall, 2008] SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS
69
however, the proper place for a “best interest of the child” analysis
to occur.17 In light of that expertise, and given that Congress intended the juvenile court to be the sole finders of fact and authority to grant best interest orders, this wiggle room for USCIS to insert itself into the fact finders’ seat without Congressional authority begins a dangerously slippery slope toward second guessing of
juvenile courts that lawfully grant SIJ Status to eligible juveniles.
Although this Article uses the example of SIJ status as the core
case study, the inability of otherwise qualified juveniles to receive
SIJ status is certainly not the only instance of unexecuted administrative rights, especially as it relates to immigration law. Some
other examples include Freedom of Information Act requests, U
Visas before the regulations arrived in September 2007,18 and the
situation of unclear regulations with respect to unaccompanied
immigrant children who languish in detention awaiting decisions
with regard to their immigration status.19 These other instances of
unexecuted rights are equally important, but for the purpose of
this Article, this author will focus exclusively on the problem with
rights associated with SIJS.
A. Jean’s Story20
In recent cases, DHS has maintained that certain foster care
eligible children are ineligible for SIJS. Jean Toussaint is a seventeen year old child from Haiti. Jean has never known his father
and was orphaned by his mother at a very young age. When he
was approximately six years old, Jean came to the United States
diately notify USCIS Headquarters, Office of Field Operations and Office
or Program and Regulation Development, through designated channels, to
coordinate appropriate follow-up.
Memorandum from William R. Yates, supra note 13, at 5.
17. See Special Immigrant Status; Certain Aliens Declared Dependent on a Juvenile
Court; Revocation of Approval of Petitions; Bona Fide Marriage Exemption to Marriage
Fraud Arrangements; Adjustment of Status, 58 Fed. Reg. 42843, 42847 (Aug. 12, 1993). The
comments also state that the INS “believes it would be both impractical and inappropriate
for the [INS] to routinely readjudicate judicial or social service agency administrative determinations as to the juvenile's best interest.” Id.
18. Even at the time of this publication, few if any U Visas have been approved, given
the immense backlog predating 2007. See OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN, U.S. CITIZENSHIP &
IMMIGRATION SERVICES, IMPROVING THE PROCESS FOR VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND
CERTAIN CRIMINAL ACTIVITY: THE T AND U VISA 1 (2009), available at http://www.aila.org/
content/default.aspx?docid=27793.
19. For more information on this legal action, see Hernan Rozemberg, Unaccompanied
Immigrant Minors Face Major Consequences, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, Sept. 4, 2007,
available at http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/MYSA090207_01A_Immigrant_kids_3a416eb_html708.html.
20. All names have been changed to protect the identities of those involved. This case
is currently pending and the omission of sources is necessary to protect the integrity of
the outcome.
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J. OF TRANSNATIONAL LAW & POLICY
[Vol. 18:1
and was placed with his aunt. He no longer speaks nor understands Haitian Creole. When Jean was eleven years old, the Florida Department of Children and Families removed him from his
aunt’s abusive and neglectful care and placed him under state custody in the Florida foster care system. Jean was adjudicated dependent on the juvenile court in 2002,21 and the Court terminated
rights for both parents in March of 2003.
On April 22, 2003, the former Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) approved Jean’s Petition for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS).22 Here is how SIJS works.23 To qualify, a
child must first be adjudicated dependent by the state court.24 The
state court then makes findings as to whether: reunification with
the child’s parents is likely, the child is eligible for long-term foster
care,25 and if it would be in the “best interests” of the child to remain in the U.S. in the care of a legal guardian.26
After the juvenile court approved Jean’s SIJ petition, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied his Application for
Adjustment of Status, and Jean was placed into removal proceedings before the Miami Immigration Court. DHS then referred some
of Jean’ delinquency, educational, and mental health records to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Based on the
documents provided by the DHS, the CDC determined in 2005 that
Jean has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and
Disruptive Behavior Disorder, NOS (312.9), both of which are considered Class A medical conditions by the CDC.27 Having a Class A
medical condition precludes the obtainment of legal permanent residency in the United States pursuant to Section 212(a)(1)(A)(iii) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act.28
A Class A medical condition renders an individual inadmissible
to the U.S. unless the applicant is otherwise eligible for a waiver.29
21. An adjudication of dependency signifies that a juvenile court has made findings of
fact regarding a child’s abuse, abandonment, or neglect by his parental figures. See, e.g.,
§ 39.507, FLA. STAT. (2008). In Florida, dependency is outlined in Chapter 39 of the
Florida Statutes.
22. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J) (2006).
23. For a more detailed account of the SIJS process, see WENDI J. ADELSON, SPECIAL
IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS IN FLORIDA: A GUIDE FOR JUDGES, LAWYERS, AND CHILD ADVOCATES (2007), http://www.law.miami.edu/pdf/SIJ_Manual.pdf.
24. Id.
25. “Eligible for long-term foster care means that a determination has been made by
the juvenile court that family reunification is no longer a viable option” and that the child
will normally go on to foster care, adoption or guardianship. 8 C.F.R. § 204.11(a) (2008)
(emphasis in original).
26. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27(J)(ii) (2006).
27. Under authority from 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (a)(1)(A)(iii)(II) (2006).
28. See Hebrew Immigrant Aid Soc’y, Immigration Glossary, http://www.hias.org/
immigration/glossary.html (last visited Mar. 4, 2009).
29. Id.
Fall, 2008] SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS
71
These conditions are labeled communicable diseases of public
health significance. Currently, this list includes any of the following diseases: “(1) Chancroid, (2) Gonorrhea[,] (3) Granuloma inguinale, (4) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, (5) Leprosy, infectious, (6) Lymphogranuloma venereum, (7) Syphilis,
infectious stage, and (8) Tuberculosis, active.”30 Also included in
Class A, and particularly germane to Jean’s case, are labels concerning individuals who possess:
a physical or mental disorder and behavior associated
with the disorder that may pose, or has posed, a
threat to the property, safety, or welfare of the alien
or others or . . . have had a physical or mental disorder and a history of behavior associated with the disorder, which behavior has posed a threat to the property, safety, or welfare of the alien or others and
which behavior is likely to recur or lead to other
harmful behavior, or . . . [an individual] . . . determined to be a drug user or addict.31
The CDC has internal procedures for re-examining an immigrant
that it deems to have a Class A medical condition.32 Upon an appeal by the alien child who has been certified as possessing a Class
A condition, the CDC must convene a panel to re-examine the evidence submitted, and hear additional evidence and testimony regarding the condition.33 The panel must then determine if it concurs with the Class A medical condition classification placed on the
child by a prior medical specialist.34
Jean’s legal representatives appealed the CDC’s determination
that Jean currently suffers from a Class A medical condition. The
lawyers argued that the CDC had insufficient information on
which to base an informed determination of Jean’s condition. Specifically, the board of examiners relied on limited information provided solely by DHS, and neither evidence nor testimony was provided on Jean’ behalf. Jean’s legal team believed that upon reexamination, if the board of medical examiners had current and
accurate information regarding Jean’s theoretical psychiatric condition, it would recognize that he does not currently suffer from a
30. Id.
31. Immigration
and
Nationality
§ 1182(a)(1)(A)(iii)-(iv) (2006).
32. See 42 C.F.R. § 34.8 (2007).
33. See id.
34. Id. § 34.8(h).
Act
§212(a)(1)(A)(iii)-(iv),
8
U.S.C.
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[Vol. 18:1
Class A illness, and, as such, the CDC’s initial determination
would not preclude Jean from gaining permanent residency in
the U.S.35
That said, the juvenile court retained jurisdiction over his case,
and representatives for Jean Toussaint gathered experts in psychology and psychiatry to clarify the existence or extent of Jean’s
present relationship with ADHD. Authorities on the condition are
divided as to whether an individual can ever “grow out” of
ADHD.36 Jean’s representatives collaborated with medical experts
to ascertain whether Jean was initially correctly diagnosed with
ADHD, since his lengthy records did not contain information as to
which individual first diagnosed him at age five, and what their
professional qualifications were for determining whether Jean had
this disease.
Upon reflection, the CDC found that Jean did not at that time
have ADHD. His case was then remanded to the Immigration
Judge who ruled to adjust Jean’s status to that of a lawful immigrant. DHS has appealed, and Jean’s legal team has filed an amicus on his behalf. At this juncture, it is unclear how the court will
decide this case.
If decided in his favor, Jean’s case could have potentially farreaching effects. Jean’s attorneys hope that since the CDC decided
that Jean was misdiagnosed and is not afflicted with a Class A
disease, rendering him eligible for adjustment of status, then perhaps the enormous resources garnered to achieve his legal victory
will have a chilling effect on DHS officials who would seek to remove a similarly SIJS-eligible individual. The fear is that if Jean
loses his case, then other foster children—a group that disproportionately suffers from mental disabilities37—who receive SIJS may
similarly be unable to naturalize. The systemic consequences are
impressive: for Jean, a CDC refusal to overturn its findings regarding his Class A status would mean that a boy who left Haiti at age
six, who does not speak Creole, and who has not a single living relative in Haiti to care for him might be forced to return to his country of origin. A loss for Jean could have had potentially far35. This legal strategy is not without complications. Given the impact that Jean’s case
could have on all foster children afflicted with various mental illnesses or disorders, the
litigation strategy chosen in this case had to exclude children eligible for SIJ status who
were rendered ineligible because of a Class A diagnosis. Accordingly, the legal team for Jean
asserted that Jean never had ADHD in the first place.
36. See FamilyDoctor.org, ADHD: What Parents Should Know, http://familydoctor.org/
118.xml (last visited Mar. 4, 2009).
37. SHARON VANDIVERE ET AL., CHILD TRENDS, CHILDREN IN FOSTER HOMES: HOW ARE
THEY FARING? (2003) (demonstrating more health problems for foster children than similarly disadvantaged children and a higher incidence of behavioral and emotional problems),
available at http://www.childtrends.org/Files/FosterHomesRB.pdf.
Fall, 2008] SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS
73
reaching and catastrophic effects for both the populations of foster
and undocumented children residing in the U.S.
Just because Jean was found not to have ADHD and thus not
to be inadmissible does not leave other similarly situated young
people with ADHD and other disabilities free and clear. This is not
a class action case; instead, its potentially positive outcome is for
Jean alone to enjoy, unless the enormous time and expense of litigation prevents DHS from wanting to do battle on this contentious
SIJ issue again.
As mentioned, the CDC made a conclusive finding that Jean
neither has ADHD in combination with a behavioral disorder, nor
is he a threat to himself or to society, as DHS had claimed. The
CDC board went further to question whether Jean ever had a disease in the first place, the assumption being that he was misdiagnosed. Even after the CDC ruled in Jean’s favor, U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continued its efforts to deport
Jean, by trying to subpoena additional school records, even though
the immigration judge who gave the final ruling agreed that he
already had all the school records. No doubt ICE viewed this case
as an entree into setting bold precedent for other like cases. Because most abused, abandoned, and/or neglected children have also
been traumatized, and most traumatized children frequently experience mental conditions resulting from exposure to trauma, then
this population of children could also have mental conditions that
present a danger to society. However, this is the very group of
children that Congress saw fit to protect through SIJ legislation.38
Without the ability to access the rights that Congress created for
them, children eligible for SIJ relief are left with
unexecuted rights.
1. ADHD as a Class A Illness
ADHD should not be considered a Class A illness. As mentioned before, DHS asserted that Jean suffered from ADHD which
should be considered a Class A illness that would render Jean unable to adjust his status. The CDC has found that 7.8% of all
children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with ADHD.39 The CDC
lists ample information on its websites concerning ADHD and
explains what the disorder means for individuals, families and
communities afflicted.40 Some of that information is as follows:
38. See discussion infra Part I.
39. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, ADHD Home, http://www.cdc.gov/
ncbddd/adhd/ (last visited Mar. 4, 2009).
40. See, e.g., Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, What is Attention-
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•
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ADHD is one of the most common neurobehavioral disorders of childhood thought to affect about
5% of U.S. children aged 6-1741 and can persist
through adolescence and into adulthood.42
“ADHD manifests as an unusually high and
chronic level of inattention, impulsive hyperactivity, or both. A person with ADHD may struggle
with impairments in crucial areas of life, including relationships with peers and family members,
and performance at school or work. Increases in
unintentional injuries and health care utilization
have been noted in some studies of people
with ADHD.”43
On its face, given the large number of children in the U.S. who are
diagnosed with this illness each year, it seems a stretch to label
ADHD a disorder or behavior “that may pose, or has posed, a
threat to the property, safety, or welfare of the alien or others.”44
Certainly, the CDC and others with intimate knowledge of the disease acknowledge that it has the capacity to cause injury and
harm both to the individuals afflicted, to their families, and others.45 The CDC also noted that “[c]hildren with ADHD appear to
have significantly higher medical costs than children without
ADHD.”46 However, many diseases and disorders, like cancer, for
example, require protracted periods of care and medical attention
without amounting to a public health risk.
Why is ADHD different? Attorneys for DHS who would like to
see Jean and similarly situated children deported might argue that
ADHD in and of itself is not as great a threat to the safety and
welfare of others as is ADHD in combination with other disorders,
like the oppositional defiance disorder with which Jean was origi-
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?, http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/what.htm (last
visited Mar. 4, 2009).
41. Miranda Hitti, WebMD Health News, CDC: About 5% of Kids of
ADHD, http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/news/20080723/cdc-about-5-percent-of-kids-haveadhd (last visited Mar. 4, 2009).
42. See Adult ADD Help, Adult ADD, http://adultaddhelp.net/adult-add (last visited
Mar. 4, 2009).
43. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, ADHD – a Public Perspective,
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/publichealth.htm (last visited Mar. 4, 2009).
44. Immigration
and
Nationality
Act
§212(a)(1)(A)(iii)-(iv),
8
U.S.C.
§ 1182(a)(1)(A)(iii)-(iv) (2006).
45. See Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, ADHD and Risk of Injuries,
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/injury.htm (last visited Mar. 4, 2009); International Consensus Statement on ADHD, 5 CLINICAL CHILD & FAM. PSYCHOL. REV. 89, 90 (2002).
46. ADHD and Risk of Injuries, supra note 45.
Fall, 2008] SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS
75
nally diagnosed.47 Oppositional defiance disorder (ODD) is a condition marked by “aggressiveness and a tendency to purposefully
bother and irritate others.”48 As a society, it is understandable that
we would prevent certain harmful individuals from entering our
borders. We would purposely seek to exclude those who intended to
harm individual citizens and the political and economic structures
of U.S. government. Given the aggression exhibited by individuals
with ODD in combination with ADD and ADHD, and the potential
danger they could pose to others,49 perhaps they should also be excluded from admission into the U.S.
That said, ODD is the “most common psychiatric problem in
children,” and a solid percentage of children with ODD exhibit
ADHD as well.50 Research has demonstrated that early detection,
in combination with various kinds of therapy, can greatly reduce
the negative impact of ODD and ADHD on the lives of the children
afflicted, as well as friends, family and communities impacted by
the disease.51 Moreover, Congress in no way contemplated that
DHS would make an exception for abused, abandoned and/or neglected juveniles diagnosed with ADHD and/or ODD who were otherwise eligible for SIJ status. This disorder does not rise to the level of dangerousness to society to justify exclusion of a non-violent
juvenile who has not been found delinquent by a juvenile court.
Part of what is most troubling about DHS making decisions as
to what diseases or disorders are considered admissible and which
are excludable is that these types of large-scale policy decisions are
not within the province of individual adjudicators to make. On the
contrary, it is the legislature that is tasked with making these
kinds of policy decisions. The juvenile court judges also have a role
to play in designating which juveniles are dangerous and need to
be detained, and which minors require dependence on the court for
preservation of their best interests. Under Chevron, DHS as an
administrative agency of the U.S. government is entitled to deference for its decisions based on statute.52 However, this level of deference does not extend to the decisions of individual decisionmakers when they seek to make independent decisions without
authority to do so.
47. Cf. James Chandler, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Conduct Disorder
(CD) in Children and Adolescents: Diagnosis and Treatment, http://www.klis.com/chandler/
pamphlet/oddcd/oddcdpamphlet.htm#_Toc121406159 (last visited Mar. 4, 2009).
48. Id.
49. See 4 ADHD, ADHD and Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD), http://www.4adhd.com/adhd-odd.html (last visited Mar. 4, 2009).
50. Chandler, supra note 47.
51. See 4 ADHD, supra note 49.
52. See Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 844 (1984).
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B. The Government’s Position and Congressional Intent
For the government to maintain this position flies in the face of
congressional intent. The enactment of the 1990 SIJ provision of
the Immigration and Nationality Act53 demonstrates Congress’
recognition that children who have experienced maltreatment in
their families deserve special protection. During the creation of
this provision, twenty-eight different commentators to the proposed statute expressed concern about how juveniles eligible for
SIJ visas would adjust their status to that of lawful permanent
residents.54 One commentator asked about whether the adjustment of status would be an automatic process or whether a SIJ
would be required to go through the regular immigration channels
to adjust their status.55 Further, “several [of the] commentators
indicated that, since Congressional intent was to allow special
immigrant juveniles to become permanent residents, the [USCIS]
should revise the rule to allow adjustment regardless of whether
the applicants were ineligible for adjustment under existing statutes.”56 Although Congressional intent is never uniform or easy to
divine, this commentary sheds at least a little light on the underlying discussions surrounding the creation of SIJS.
Many Congressional members in support of the creation of
SIJS thought that a juvenile who had received a best interest order from a juvenile court judge rendering them eligible for a J visa
would sail through a seamless pathway to citizenship.57 For a long
time, that certainly was the case.58 Part of the reason for the
streamlined nature of the J visa was that most exclusionary provisions are waived for special immigrant juveniles “for humanitarian
purposes, family unity, or when it is otherwise in the public interest.”59 The only exclusionary provisions that cannot be waived are
those involving criminal and security related grounds.60 After a
quick reading of the statute, it would not seem legally possible that
someone in Jean’s position—that of a juvenile granted SIJ status
53. Immigration Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-649, § 153, 104 Stat. 4978, 5005-06
(1990) (codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J) (2006)).
54. Special Immigrant Status; Certain Aliens Declared Dependent on a Juvenile
Court; Revocation of Approval of Petitions; Bona Fide Marriage Exemption to Marriage
Fraud Arrangements; Adjustment of Status, 58 Fed. Reg. 42843, 42848-49 (Aug. 12, 1993).
55. Id. at 42848.
56. Id.
57. Interview with Professor Bernard P. Perlmutter, Univ. of Miami Sch. of Law in
Miami, Fla. (Mar. 15, 2007).
58. Id.
59. 8 U.S.C. § 1255(h)(2)(B) (2006).
60. The grounds that persist for exclusion of special immigrant juveniles are laid out
in 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (a)(2)(A), (2)(B), (3)(A), (3)(C), (3)(E) (2006).
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who was diagnosed with a commonplace disability—would be unable to adjust his status. Yet, Jean is just one of many juveniles
whom the juvenile courts have found eligible for an SIJ visa and
then found ineligible by the USCIS.61
1. Lack of Any Congressional Indication
Congress never indicated that SIJS should be unavailable to
kids with certain medical conditions. Nowhere in the legislative
history surrounding the enactment of SIJS does it mention medical
illness as a ground for excludability or inadmissibility. The absence of such a reference is noticeable given the other grounds of
inadmissibility that are explicitly mentioned and waived. For example, as the Yates Memo provides, “SIJ beneficiaries are excused
from many requirements that other applicants for adjustment
must meet.”62 SIJ applicants are excused from “provisions prohibiting entry for those likely to become a public charge,”63 “those without proper labor certification,”64 “and those without a proper immigrant visa.”65 However, certain grounds of inadmissibility are not
waivable for SIJ applicants. These grounds are listed in the Immigration and Nationality Act § 212(a)(2)(A), (B), and (C), as well as
(3)(A), (B), (C), and (E) and cover offenses such as multiple criminal convictions and controlled substance trafficking.66
Certainly it would seem that a child like Jean, who has no family left in Haiti and who has already been recommended by a juvenile court for SIJ status, would be in the very kind of situation that
USCIS contemplated when it wrote clarifying Yates Memo on the
SIJ Visa, which articulated “humanitarian purposes” as a potential route for going around another potential inadmissibility.67
However, DHS considered Jean inadmissible due to his Class A
characterization on account of his ADHD. Congressional intent
underlying the creation of SIJ Status was to create a permanent
option in the U.S. for undocumented, state-dependent minors.68
The absence of mention of commonplace medical conditions like
ADHD as grounds for inadmissibility in the SIJ statute indicates
61. See Holland & Knight, Children’s Rights, http://www.hklaw.com/id146/#2 (under
“Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Secured in Florida”) (last visited Mar. 4, 2009), for an
explanation of this litigation in Florida.
62. Memorandum from William R. Yates, supra note 13, at 6.
63. Id. (citing Immigration and Nationality Act § 212(a)(4), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(4) (2006)).
64. Id. (citing Immigration and Nationality Act § 212(a)(5)(A), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(5)(A) (2006)).
65. Id. (citing Immigration and Nationality Act § 212(a)(7)(A), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(7)(A) (2006)).
66. Id.
67. Id.
68. Immigration Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-649, 104 Stat. 4978 (1990) (codified in
scattered sections of 8 U.S.C.).
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that USCIS officials are carrying out the SIJ mandate for statedependent unaccompanied juveniles in a way different from that
envisioned by Congress.
2. SIJS
Given that a separate court system was created for juveniles,
the juvenile court seems the most appropriate place to make findings as to a child’s welfare in the context of his or her family situation.69 Until Congress intervened in 1990, one group of children
remained outside the purview of state court jurisdiction; namely,
undocumented children who had been abused, abandoned and neglected.70 The impetus for the creation of the SIJS arose primarily
out of a desire to provide relief for this discrete group of
young people.71
No administrative regulations aid in implementation of the
SIJS. Several law review articles have called for such aid and
guidance in interpreting various portions of the statute.72 The lack
of administrative regulations has been made more problematic by
the 1997 amendments to SIJ law.73 For example, the 1997
amendments to SIJ law make it necessary for a child in DHS detention to seek the “specific[] consent” of the Attorney General to a
state juvenile court exercising jurisdiction over undocumented
children in “actual or constructive custody of the Attorney General.”74 Because neither “consent” nor “actual or constructive custody” have been clearly defined through administrative regulation,75
children and their legal advocates remain uncertain as to how to
properly follow the law.
Confusion regarding this question of Attorney General consent,
which arose from the 1997 amendments, also persists in cases
where the juvenile is no longer in DHS custody. Absent regulations, these questions of consent must be resolved on a case by case
basis. For example, in a letter dated February 13, 2007, the John
Pogash, Chief of the National Juvenile Coordination Unit of ICE
Office of Detention and Removal Operations sought to clarify the
69. See Julian W. Mack, The Juvenile Court, 23 HARV. L. REV. 104, 107 (1909) (discussing the early movement toward treating juvenile offenders differently than adult offenders by, among other things, creating a separate justice system for them).
70. See Angela Lloyd, Regulating Consent: Protecting Undocumented Immigrant
Children From Their (Evil) Step-Uncle Sam, or How to Ameliorate the Impact of the 1997
Amendments to the SIJ Law, 15 B.U. PUB. INT. L.J. 237, 237-38 (2006).
71. See id. at 238.
72. See, e.g., id. at 261.
73. See id. at 244-47.
74. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J)(iii)(I); Lloyd, supra note 70, at 245-46.
75. Lloyd, supra note 70, at 240.
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consent conundrum.76 Pogash emphasized in this letter to an attorney for an SIJ applicants that the specific consent of the Attorney General is not needed for minors who have been released from
federal custody.77 The letter is definitely a step in the right direction toward greater clarity. However, such a policy lacks uniformity if attorneys are still confused as to how the 1997 amendments
apply to their clients and see the need to write to the Chief of ICE
in the first place. Administrative regulations are still necessary,
and still missing.
3. Congress’ Clear Intent
Congress’ intent of SIJS is clear that SIJS should be implemented fairly, clearly, and robustly. When Congress promulgated
SIJ law in 1990, it clearly intended to create a legal right for undocumented abused, abandoned or neglected children residing in the
U.S. Although the 1997 amendments have obfuscated a few of the
original provisions, such as the issue of Attorney General consent
mentioned above, the general intent remains intact. That said,
cases like that of Jean, and others currently on appeal, chip away,
at the least, at one remedy available to vulnerable children residing in our nation.
One way in which practice belies the intent underlying SIJ law
is when the system is overwhelmed by applications for adjustment
of status, such that many individuals applying, including a few
applications for SIJ status, fall to the wayside. This result undermines congressional intent that SIJ applicants be processed quickly, fairly and accurately so that the benefit of legal status arrives
in time to aid juveniles aging out of public school to lawfully enter
advanced education and/or the work force. The case of Yu v. Brown
addressed such an issue.78 In this class action, Yu was the named
plaintiff representing a group of individuals that had been approved for SIJ Status, but had been waiting more than one year for
the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to
process their applications for adjustment of status.79 The court
held that, “regardless of the ultimate decision, [the] INS ha[d] a
76. Letter (redacted) from John J. Pogash, Chief of the Nat’l Juvenile Coordination
Unit, Office of Detention & Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, to counsel Mr. X (Feb. 13, 2007) (regarding Mr. X’s request for more information
about how Attorney General consent would function in his client’s case), available at
http://www.refugees.org/uploadedFiles/Participate/National_Center/Resource_Library/Pogas
h%20Letter%20_2007.pdf.
77. See id.
78. Yu v. Brown, 36 F. Supp. 2d 922 (D.N.M. 1999).
79. Id. at 925.
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non-discretionary, mandatory duty to act on [the class’s] applications.”80 In terms of the agency’s role in carrying out congressional
intent, the court in Yu also cites a related case for the proposition
that the court’s “function in such cases is to assure the vitality of
the congressional instruction that agencies conclude matters within a reasonable time.”81
The need to process the immigration paperwork portion of the
J visa expeditiously is certainly an important facet of adhering to
congressional intent with regard to SIJ. Another manner in which
congressional intent regarding SIJ has been thwarted relates to
the challenges that USCIS has made to the juvenile court’s findings of abuse, abandonment or neglect. Federal law governing a
child’s eligibility for SIJ legal relief requires that a child be declared dependent upon a juvenile court due to his or her abuse, abandonment, or neglect.82 When administrative officers insert their
own opinions, displacing those of juvenile court judges who are experienced in fact-finding on abuse, abandonment, and neglect regarding juveniles, the potential for accurate SIJ determinations
is undermined.
USCIS declared in the Yates Memo that immigration officials
should not attempt to substitute their judgment for that of the juvenile court judges.83 The Yates Memo clearly states that the USCIS “adjudicator generally should not second-guess the court rulings or question whether the court’s order was properly issued.”84
It is possible that the word “generally” was carefully placed to
permit the kind of second-guessing that currently takes place by
USCIS adjudicators with regard to juvenile court best interest orders for SIJ. In fact, the Miami Office of USCIS has repeatedly
readjudicated cases decided by juvenile court judges based on their
perceptions of improper decisions on abuse, abandonment, and
neglect.85 Such actions run counter to DHS’s policies and practices
wherein the agency acknowledges its limitations in the field of dependency law. According to its own policy, the former INS
does not intend to make determinations in the course
of deportation proceedings regarding the “best inter80. Id. at 931.
81. Id. at 930 (citing In re Amer. Fed. of Gov. Employees, AFL-CIO, 790 F. 2d 116, 117
(D.C.Cir. 1986) (citation omitted)) (internal quotation marks omitted).
82. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J) (2006).
83. Memorandum from William R. Yates, supra note 13, at 4-5.
84. Id.
85. See Letter from Cheryl Little, Executive Dir., Fla. Immigrant Advocacy Ctr., to
Cheryl Phillips, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services 5 (Dec. 20, 2006) (on file with the
Journal).
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est” of a child for the purpose of establishing eligibility for special immigrant juvenile classification. . . .
[I]t would be both impractical and inappropriate for
the Service to routinely readjudicate judicial . . . administrative determinations as to the juvenile’s
best interest.”86
II. SIJ AND JEAN
A. Precedent of Courts Applying SIJS to Folks Like
Jean Elsewhere
Jean’s case is most likely one of first impression. The attorneys
involved in the case have yet to uncover any prior case law regarding children eligible for SIJ visas who have been denied based on
Class A inadmissibility. The juvenile court in this case looked to
Jean’s attorneys to inform the judge as to whether she had the authority to order that Jean receive an expert evaluation before his
hearing in front of the CDC. Further, the CDC actually had to
write its own rules of procedure to govern this precedent-setting
case, whereby a child would be reevaluated by the CDC and other
medical specialists.
While it seems precedent does not exist on the exact issue
present in Jean’s case, similar erosions of congressional intent underlying SIJ law are occurring in pockets around the United
States. The U.S. Committee for Refugee and Immigrant Children
diligently manages these flare-ups nationwide.87 The Committee
has mentioned that a few juvenile court judges in New Jersey and
northern Florida have refused to adjudicate a child dependent who
otherwise appeared eligible for dependency because the judge assumed that the child would later seek immigration relief.88 Such a
belief undermines congressional intent concerning SIJ law in that
the law exists as a form of immigration relief for qualified juveniles; therefore, a juvenile who seeks the immigration relief that
SIJ affords after being adjudicated dependant is well within his or
her right.
Jean’s case has especially important precedential value because his situation involves a child formerly in foster care, quali86. Special Immigrant Status; Certain Aliens Declared Dependent on a Juvenile
Court; Revocation of Approval of Petitions; Bona Fide Marriage Exemption to Marriage
Fraud Arrangements; Adjustment of Status, 58 Fed. Reg. 42843, 42847 (Aug. 12, 1993) (emphasis added).
87. Telephone Conversation with Eric Sigmon and Carolyn Seugling (Apr. 30, 2007)
(regarding problems nationwide with SIJ adjudications in juvenile courts).
88. Id.
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fied for SIJ, and who, because of a medical illness or disability, is
being denied immigration relief. Social science research has demonstrated that current or former foster children are more likely to
suffer from mental illness and disability.89 Current case law has
also exposed the increased likelihood that foster children will suffer from a lack of necessary medical or mental health treatment.90
Given that abused, abandoned and/or neglected children eligible
for foster care are the very children most likely to suffer from these
disabilities, it does not follow that having such a disorder like
ADHD could keep a child from accessing U.S. citizenship through
SIJ status, which is what just as Congress intended.
B. Policy Reasons for Applying SIJS Properly
In addition to the legal reasons for carrying out congressional
intent with regard to SIJ law, policy reasons to uphold this legislation abound. One of the core reasons for properly effectuating SIJ
law and ensuring that those juveniles eligible for SIJ receive this
form of legal relief is found in the “best interests of the child” standard borrowed from family law.91 As David Thronson has asserted,
“the ubiquitous ‘best interests of the child’ standard that governs
or influences many decisions affecting children in other arenas
does not drive immigration law.”92 Thronson notes, however, that
this standard, otherwise absent from immigration law, is readily
apparent in SIJ legislation where dependency was explicitly made
the province of the juvenile court, which is a more appropriate
body than an immigration court to decide matters relating to a ju-
89. See generally Sandra K. Cook-Fong, The Adult Well-Being of Individuals Reared
in Family Foster Care Placements, 29 CHILD & YOUTH CARE F. 7 (2000); John G. Orme &
Cheryl Buehler, Foster Family Characteristics and Behavioral and Emotional Problems of
Foster Children: A Narrative Review, 50 FAM. REL. 3 (2001); VANDIVERE, supra note 37 (demonstrating more health problems for foster children than similarly disadvantaged children
and a higher incidence of behavioral and emotional problems).
90. See, e.g., Kenny A. ex rel. Winn v. Perdue, 218 F.R.D. 277, 286 (D. Ga. 2003) (alleged failures by Georgia’s foster care system including failing to provide necessary mental
health and medical services to foster children); Braam ex rel. Braam v. State, 81 P.3d 851,
856 (Wash. 2003) (findings made by the trial court against Washington’s Department of
Social and Health Services included the denial of necessary mental health services to foster
children and the provision of inappropriate services).
91. See, e.g., Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 68 (2000) (“[T]here is a presumption
that fit parents act in the best interests of their children.”); 47 AM. JUR. 2D Juvenile Courts,
Etc. § 53 (2008) (“The best interests of the child must be considered, and the court cannot
disregard that the purpose of juvenile laws is to provide for the care, protection, and welfare
of the child in a family environment whenever possible, separating the child from his or her
parents only when necessary.” (footnote omitted)).
92. David B. Thronson, You Can’t Get Here From Here: Toward A More ChildCentered Immigration Law, 14 VA. J. SOC. POL’Y & L. 58, 67-68 (2006).
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venile’s welfare.93 To have a juvenile court grant an best interest
order for SIJ informed by the best interests of the child standard
and then not grant the concomitant forms of immigration relief
due to incorrect implementation undermines the policy goals associated with this important legislation.
Correct implementation of SIJ legislation also serves a humanitarian function. This space for humanitarian principles to override other potential minor deficiencies in the application is written
into the statute. For example, most other exclusionary provisions
generally applicable in immigration law are waived for special
immigrant juveniles “for humanitarian purposes, family unity, or
when it is otherwise in the public interest.”94 In Jean’s case especially, both the law and humanitarian concerns underlying public
policy support his receipt of a SIJ visa.
Another reason to grant SIJ visas for juveniles who have already received best interest orders from the juvenile court is that,
in many states, SIJ relief is the only legal option for abandoned,
abused, and neglected foreign-born children to have an opportunity
to lead safe, healthy, and productive lives. Children who lack legal
immigration status who would like to attend college in the U.S.
currently are eligible to do so only—if they can afford the tuition—
as international students. The mechanism by which non-citizens
could afford to attend school is through the Development, Relief
and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) legislation.95
The DREAM Act would repeal Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 199696 and would
thereby remove limits on a state’s ability to provide in-state tuition
to students lacking legal immigration status.97 This piece of bipartisan legislation died with the last round of efforts for comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. Congress.98 If enacted, the
DREAM Act would provide a great help to children eligible for SIJ
status who either age out of eligibility or are otherwise ineligible
because of their married status,99 or because their applications
93. See id. at 68 n.41.
94. See 8 U.S.C. § 1255(h) (2006).
95. Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2007, S. 774, 110th
Cong. (2007).
96. Id. § 3(a).
97. See Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 § 505, 8
U.S.C. § 1623 (2006) (prohibiting illegal aliens residing in a state or political subdivision
from being eligible for “any postsecondary education benefit” unless a United States citizen,
regardless of his or her residence, can claim the same benefit).
98. GovTrack.us, S. 1438[110th]: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007,
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-1348 (last visited Mar. 4, 2009).
99. Non-eligibility because of marriage occurs in Florida where that person, although
under eighteen, would no longer be considered a juvenile. See § 743.01, FLA. STAT. (2008).
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were denied by USCIS for any number of reasons. Until the
DREAM Act becomes national legislation, the J visa remains the
best hope for this vulnerable population of immigrant youth.
C. Other Relevant Legal Instruments: Americans with
Disabilities Act?
Jean’s case has the potential to affect a large class of children—
those who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected; who have
been in foster care or would be eligible for such state-based care;
who cannot be reunited with their families; who cannot return to
their countries of origin; and who suffer from mental illnesses like
ADHD. Given that some of Class A inadmissibility seems to unfairly target those with non-communicable infirmities that do not
affect the health or welfare of U.S. citizens but simply affect the
individuals themselves, reading this type of inadmissibility into
the SIJ statute unfairly discriminates against an already vulnerable population. If these children were citizens, they could be eligible for a claim of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).100 The statute states that “the continuing existence of unfair and unnecessary discrimination and prejudice denies people with disabilities the opportunity to compete on an
equal basis and to pursue those opportunities for which our society
is justifiably famous.”101 Although the ADA does not apply to noncitizens, the statute’s underlying goals should be similarly applicable to children in Jean’s situation.
III. DHS SHOULD REMEDY THE SIJS PROBLEM IMMINENTLY
Every day that passes without clarification from DHS and USCIS on their policies and procedures regarding SIJ implementation
causes problems for SIJ applicants and the attorneys who
represent them. The Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center has encountered situations where their clients’ SIJ applicants are denied
based on what the Miami Office of USCIS (“Miami Office”) terms
their own “federal” standards of “abuse, abandonment[,] and neglect.”102 The Miami Office has refused to provide any clarification
of these standards.103 In addition, the Miami Office has cited to
Also, if they were adjudicated dependent on the state, but then the court extends jurisdiction until age twenty-two, they could be twenty-one years old, and if they marry they will
lose the ability to get SIJ.
100. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213 (2000).
101. Id. §12101(a)(9).
102. See Letter from Cheryl Little to Cheryl Phillips, supra note 85, at 6.
103. Id.
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unpublished USCIS Administrative Appeals Office decisions to
support their denials of candidates otherwise ostensibly eligible for
SIJ relief.104 This secrecy and lack of clarity shrouds in mystery a
process that should otherwise be a transparent and straightforward form of legal relief for a vulnerable population of children residing in this country.
A. DHS’s Specious Reasoning
DHS has offered no adequate reasoning to support its current
parsimony with respect to SIJS. As previously mentioned, fewer
than 700 SIJ visas were granted in 2005 nationwide.105 Often during heated debates over immigration, the side that favors stronger
controls on U.S. citizenship will decry the opening of the floodgates
if a certain measure is implemented. Given the small numbers of
juveniles applying for SIJ status, the strong level of resistance that
child advocates face from USCIS appears both surprising
and disproportionate.
One possible source for this blowback is the new anti-fraud directive issued from USCIS national headquarters.106 Certainly fear
over a juvenile trying to game the system and receive a benefit to
which they are not lawfully entitled could inspire those in the USCIS adjudicators’ seats to closely scrutinize SIJ applications. A
careful reading of SIJ applicants is warranted; however, secondguessing a juvenile court judge is just plain unlawful. Although it
would appear a fine line to walk between close scrutiny and overzealous reinterpretation of a juvenile’s application for SIJ, the path
USCIS adjudicators walk with regard to courts’ decisions should be
one of fairness, clarity and transparency. Denials are appropriate
where an individual fails to fulfill the necessary requirements for a
J visa and not because bad faith or fraud is assumed by default.
B. DHS’s Meritless Objections
When USCIS denies the grant of SIJ status to a child who has
been recommended for such status by a juvenile court, child advocates scramble to understand such a decision. In a few recent cases, USCIS has simply misunderstood and misapplied the law. For
example, in a recent case in Miami, USCIS found that because Jo104. Id.
105. 2005 YEARBOOK, supra note 6, at 22 tbl. 7.
106. Press Release, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, ICE expands document
and benefit fraud task forces to six more cities (Apr. 25, 2007), http://www.ice.gov/
pi/news/newsreleases/articles/070425washingtondc.htm.
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seph’s107 father, who was abusive to Joseph for many years, had
died, Joseph could no longer be adjudicated dependent on the juvenile court based on his past abuse. Such a reading is an incorrect
application of SIJ law. The statute concerning dependency is disjunctive, in that abuse, abandonment or neglect could qualify a
minor for dependent status, and based alone on suffering prior
abuse (or abandonment or neglect, for that matter), Joseph was
correctly declared dependent on the Juvenile Court, and continues
to remain dependent, rendering him eligible for SIJ status.
In Jean’s case, however, the situation is a bit more complex because it does not involve such a clear misreading of the statute.
The question amounts to this: should a child who is otherwise eligible for SIJ relief be rendered ineligible because their medical
disability renders them inadmissible under a Class A determination? Given that medical disability was not one of the grounds of
mandatory ineligibility (i.e. those that cannot be waived) mentioned in the Yates Memo,108 it seems that this medical problem
would be one resolved under the elastic clause that permits the
Attorney General to waive inadmissibility when it amounts to a
humanitarian issue or it is otherwise in the public interest to
do so.109
C. Clear, Fair, and Effective Guidelines
DHS should create clear guidelines that can be implemented in
a uniform manner, treating all applicants in a fair and effective
manner. Waivers are used to respond to various categories of inadmissibility in the field of immigration law. Given Jean’s situation, the waiver could be broadened to encompass those diseases or
deficiencies that children eligible for SIJ suffer from and that arise
from abuse, abandonment, and/or neglect. Although ADHD should
not be considered a Class A illness, if it is characterized as such,
then a waiver for an individual whose ADHD (or perhaps ADHD in
combination with another disorder) does not rise to the level of
harm to the health and welfare of the society as a whole should
receive a waiver.
107. Names have been changed and sources omitted to protect the identity of the
juvenile involved.
108. Memorandum from William R. Yates, supra note 13, at 6.
109. 8 U.S.C. § 1255(h)(2)(B) (2006).
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IV. CONCLUSION
In order to properly execute congressional intent to create a
legal benefit for abused, abandoned, and neglected children who
come from outside the United States, who cannot return to their
home countries, and who require the protection of our state juvenile courts to ensure a viable future in the U.S., DHS should cease
chipping away at the right to Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
This right is especially important to former foster youth who disproportionately suffer from mental illness and disability. To effectuate this goal of protection of the right to SIJ relief for eligible
non-citizen juveniles, DHS should enact regulations that reflect
the current practices and policies of the department with regard to
current and former foster youth in their application for SIJ Status.
These regulations must be clear and unambiguous, and reflect
congressional intent to preserve the right to SIJS for this country’s
burgeoning population of abused, abandoned, and neglected immigrant youth.
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